NCJ Number
210886
Journal
Campus Law Enforcement Journal Volume: 35 Issue: 3 Dated: May/June 2005 Pages: 17,19,23
Date Published
May 2005
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This article discusses the challenges of finding the correct number of officers to patrol university campuses.
Abstract
The proper staffing of university police/security departments presents a challenge due to the ever-changing environment of college campuses. Staffing requirements are impacted by many factors, including policing philosophy, demographics, and crime rates. Moreover, universities are unique environments with unique needs and university police departments must be prepared to offer unique services to this population. Effective leadership is a must in order to identify campus policing needs and adapt to the changing environment. This article presents several considerations for administrators to think about as they plan for their staffing needs, including policing/service philosophy, deployment planning, number of calls for service, administrative time for officers, directed/proactive patrol functions, and research and external factors. The first step to calculating police department staffing needs is to determine the number of citizen calls for police services over a 3-year period. Another consideration is the employment of contract security officers, full-time security guards, and student security to supplement police officers. The goal of police staffing is to guarantee the most professional and efficient service as possible; attempts to simplify the process of determining proper staffing levels have been ineffective and could have a negative impact on effectiveness of the police department. References